Crude, no-holds-barred comedies have made a resurgence in
recent years, and perhaps the film most deserving of the credit (or the blame,
depending on your point of view) is There’s
Something About Mary.This is
an irreverent little comedy that became a blockbuster comedy through much
word-of-mouth publicity and probably a lot of repeat business from the ticket
buyers.After years of living in a
culture that was stifled by political correctness, this movie was a blast of
fresh air, and made audiences feel liberated that they could laugh at such
things again.

Ted (Stiller) loves Mary (Diaz).It goes all the way back to high school, when they were
supposed to attend the prom together, but it didn’t quite work out because
Ted…well, got caught up in something.Thirteen
years later, having never got her out of his mind, he hires a sleazy private
detective, Pat (Dillon) to try and locate her.He does, but once he falls for Mary himself, the situation gets a little
more sticky.Literally so, at one
point, in a sequence that might make you swear off hair gel for the rest of your
life.

No matter what kind of comedy you prefer, chances are,
you’ll love this film.It has
everything from slapstick, to mistaken identities, to conspiracy, to the crude
and base gags that make you laugh, though you try not to.As long as you’re not prone to being offended, this film is comic
masterpiece, and will have you laughing until it hurts.

Video ***

This is a solid, though non-anamorphic transfer (come on,
Fox, get back with it!) that is free from grain and compression.Colors are mostly solid, and images are well defined, though maybe not
quite as sharp as they could be from time to time.

Audio ***

There’s a choice of 5.1 and 2.0 surround tracks.
The 5.1 is pretty good, with good dynamic range, though only sparse use of the
rear stage and little, if any, channeling to the subwoofer. The dialogue
is clear throughout, but the best part of the audio for me was the songs, which
sound terrific.

Features ***

The disc includes a trailer, a commentary by the Farrelly
brothers, the music video and Karaoke versions of “Build Me Up Buttercup”, a
nice outtake collection, and some amusing animated menus.

Summary:

There’s
something about this movie that not only kept fans coming back for more, but
inspired a new wave of uninhibited comedies that reveled in offbeat humor, poor
taste, and the occasional gross out gag, though few if any have been as good.So laugh hard, laugh often, and don’t feel guilty…you’re not alone.